Free Republic

Russia has reportedly warned that those who protest Vladimir Putin's decision to call up reservists to fight in Ukraine will be drafted into the military. Protests are planned to take place across the country on Wednesday evening, opposing Putin's decree to partially mobilize Russia's armed forces. Russian media outlets have warned that anyone taking part in "illegal rallies" will be subject to military conscription, according to Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. Top Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov shared a post on Telegram outlining the measures.

"Disrespectful", "insulting", and "ill-informed." Donald Trump's threats aimed at strong-arming Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine have been badly received by some politicians and nationalists in Russia who say his tactics bode ill for a deal. -snip- Influential war bloggers, read by millions of Russians and licenced by the authorities, expressed outrage. One of them, Voenkor Kotonok, said Trump's statement was "insulting, arrogant and self-satisfied." Another, war correspondent Alexander Kots, speculated that the Middle East ceasefire had given Trump a misplaced sense of omnipotence. "Russia is not the Gaza Strip. And starting a dialogue with ultimatums is not the...

Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently called for Alaska's return to Russia during a recent Russian-state media program. -snip- During the recent program, Solovyov said Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova, and Alaska should be "returned to the Russian Empire." "Do you think I'm joking when I mention Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova? Everything returned to the Russian Empire. And Alaska too, while you're at it," Solovyov said in a translated video.

In a recent broadcast, Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian state TV host and known ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, called for the destruction of America's critical infrastructure if the United States tries to give Moscow "any kind of an ultimatum" in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. President-elect Donald Trump has previously said that if he were at the negotiating table with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the war between the two Eastern European nations would end "within 24 hours." Now that Trump won this year's presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, the world will be looking...

Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent ally of Vladimir Putin, said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is "in no way" a friend of Russia. -snip- "We won't bargain about our constitutional territories, Solovyov said on his program Evening with Vladimir Solovyov. "But [we] can discuss with Trump whether we're going to take Berlin. 'OK, we're not going to take Berlin today,' figuratively speaking. I mean, it's a question of the system of relations. "But Trump will demand something different. He has repeatedly said that the most important thing is that there should be no alliance between Russia and China....

The movie came out on January 25, 2024. There had been very little of the usual promotion. Lockshin’s name was omitted from posters. His name was absent from all marketing materials, such as they were. In any event, the movie was a sensation. The public went to see it, quickly making it the top-grossing Russian movie of all time, in the over-18 category.Furious, the state and its propagandists got to work. As Lockshin says, “a whole campaign” was launched against him and the movie. Propagandists called him a “criminal” and a “terrorist,” and demanded that the movie be pulled from...

Vladimir Solovyov, host of "Вечер" (Evening) on state television network Russia 1, has a panel discussion with numerous Russian commentators who suggest that the election of Donald Trump will be followed by civil war in the USA. They laugh about this prospect. Of note is their acceptance and acknowledgment that Russia will not see a victory in this war any time soon. They're priming the Russian people for a long war.

Russian language transcript available at the link. Click "more" and then "Show Transcript"

Vladimir Solovyov, prominent Russian propagandist and staunch ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that there "can be no mutual coexistence" between Russia and Western nations.... "We need to recognize the West is our enemy—systemic, centuries-old, millennia-old, existential. There can be no mutual coexistence," Solovyov said, according to Gerashchenko's translation... Solovyov continued: "We should only act out of expediency. There is no need to change their minds or to please them. We just need to realize that they are the enemy. Systemic, well-trained, motivated, convinced. Which means we have to fight for minds. Not theirs, but ours."... During the course...

Russian State TV host Vladimir Solovyov this week warned viewers that Tucker Carlson will be assassinated for discussing the DC elites’ plans to wage war on Russia by next year. Earlier this week Tucker Carlson warned YouTube host Adam Carola that the Washington DC elites will launch a hot war against Russia by next year. Solovyov theatrically asked, “Who says that? A dead man walking! He sincerely believes that the next step after the accusations and the declaration of impeachment will be an assassination of Trump. But this man, who is currently the most popular English-speaking journalist, signed his own...

"Can't we finally strike at London? What is the problem?" Solovyov asked his audience during a segment of his show posted to Twitter on Sunday with English subtitles by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine. "No, no, no—only at military targets. Well, at the parliament, too," the Russian propagandist added...Previously on Thursday, Solovyov targeted EU diplomats as he suggested that they should be expelled from Russia in a "sealed container" or "packed in a sealed wagon."

NATO's head said earlier this month that Russia may want the fighting to slow, seeking a "freeze" in the fighting so it can better prepare for a bigger assault next year. "What we see now is Russia is actually trying to have some kind of 'freeze' of this war at least for a short period of time so they can regroup, repair, recover," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. "And then try to launch a bigger offensive next spring." The UK Ministry of Defence predicted on Monday that Russian forces will not see any big gains over the winter, even...

The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted onto abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines as the West struggles to meet demand for more arms. U.S. and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Boeing's proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America's Eastern European allies, industry sources said. GLSDB could be delivered as early as spring...

ITALIAN police have arrested several neonazis affiliated with the Ukrainian Azov Battalion fighting against the Russians.The police arrested five members of the Italian organisation called the Order of Hagal on Tuesday while another member of their gang is still wanted by the authorities.The remaining gang member, Ukrainian national, Anton Radomsky, is in Ukraine fighting the Russians alongside the Azov Battalion — a neonazi unit within the Ukrainian army.The group is accused by the Italian authorities of stockpiling weapons and planning to conduct terror attacks against civilian and police targets in the country.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued on Thursday that Russia's latest attacks against Ukraine's power grid weren't aimed at the civilian population, urging Kiev to "end the suffering" of its people by accepting Moscow's terms to end the war. Russia's requests for ending the attacks include Ukraine proclaiming political and military neutrality, recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and granting independence to Donetsk and Lugansk.Despite millions of Ukrainians currently without power across the country, Peskov told reporters that Russia's military pays "special attention to avoid striking social targets... As for targets that are directly or indirectly related to military potential, they are...

Russians are fleeing Crimea amid fears that Ukraine will soon move to recapture the region that Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in 2014, according to local media reports. Emil Ibragimov, the head of the Crimean project and educational platform Q-Hub, told Radio NV in a video published on Friday that Russians are fleeing from Crimea to the neighboring Russian region of Krasnodar because they fear Ukraine will eventually liberate the Black Sea peninsula. Ibragimov said that many Russian citizens who settled in Crimea after it was occupied eight years ago had already left. -snip- His remarks coincide with an assessment by...

This stockpile of cruise and ballistic missiles was likely used to deliver massive air strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months. “They apparently have a withhold for a notional NATO attack, which we would regard as absurd, but they regard it as a real possibility,” Cancian said.“So they’re holding back some part of their inventory for that.”The report further suggests that Russia has built up a stockpile of microchips and other technological components for domestic missile production before invading Ukraine on Feb. 24. In October, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced a set of measures to ramp up output of...

Is there a questionable relationship between Sam Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt FTX, Ukraine, and the Democrats? In the aftermath of the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, new questions are being raised surrounding these connections, from crypto partnerships to the billionaire’s contributions to Democrats.But is there something behind the curtain or was it a group of young people in over their heads?It All Begins with ‘Aid for Ukraine’In March, the Ukrainian government established a crypto donations website, allowing Kyiv to convert digital token contributions into fiat money that would be deposited at the National Bank of Ukraine. The Ukraine government maintained a goal...

A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles. The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian...

Russian TV Presenter: “The decision of our MoD has become known that we are withdrawing troops from the right bank of Dnieper, that is, we are leaving Kherson… Now, if you are expecting I will explain my opinion on this, then I won’t tell you anything. But I’ll explain why. If I support this decision [to withdraw] then this turns out to be a public call for violation of the territorial integrity of Russia in our criminal code… This is several years of imprisonment. If I do not support this decision and believe that the MoD [is wrong], these are...